BROCKTON – Police Chief Robert Hayden rose from his seat and tossed his cane to the floor. “Somebody get that friggin’ cane out of here,” Hayden joked, glancing aro...

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Interest in chief's oath taking wanes

BROCKTON – Police Chief Robert Hayden rose from his seat and tossed his cane to the floor.

“Somebody get that friggin’ cane out of here,” Hayden joked, glancing around a briefing room at police headquarters.

A couple dozen police officers, city officials and well-wishers sat before a podium and lined up against the back wall as Hayden made his way to the front of the room last week, where a justice of the peace waited to swear him in for the fourth time.

Hayden has been administered the oath of office every 60 days since Mayor Bill Carpenter appointed him interim chief in January.

Each time, the crowds have shrunk.

When Hayden was sworn-in for the first time Jan. 31, the rotunda at City Hall overflowed with guests, including former Ambassador to Vatican City and Boston Mayor Ray Flynn, as well as Mary Kennedy, former mayor of Lawrence, where Hayden helmed the police department after 28 years on the force in Boston.

Two months later, the crowd was less than half the size, and by Hayden’s third oath in May the event had moved to the police station and many of the guests were officers reporting for roll call.

That day, Hayden was sworn in alongside Dieuphete Celime, a 14-year-old Haitian immigrant recovering from severe burns who was named honorary “police chief” at the ceremony.

On Tuesday, no city councilors showed up to the ceremony. It was brief, lasting only a few minutes, and coming at the tail-end of 4 p.m. roll call, in which police officers are given assignments by a supervisor.

Hayden finds himself taking the oath again and again because an ordinance filed by Carpenter to install him as a civilian police commissioner stalled in the City Council.

Instead, he has been temporarily appointed to fill a vacant department head slot. Under Massachusetts General Law, such an appointment can last a maximum of 60 days.

BROCKTON – In May, after five city murders, including the killing of three Cape Verdeans, Carlos Lopes helped organized a community forum on violence.

Lopes, who has served on the board of directors of the Cape Verdean Association, said he and fellow city activists organized the event because the violence was “really getting bad and out of hand.”

Nearly three months later, Lopes is confident that under Police Chief Robert Hayden, Brockton is moving in the right direction.

“He has changed the police force, for better, with some good decisions like more police officers on foot and close to the community,” Lopes said. “Chief Hayden is to be commended for his determination in changing the community’s perception of the Brockton Police Department.”

As Hayden passes the midway point of his year in Brockton, he has largely moved on from earlier fights about being an outsider, about retirement rules and paying two chiefs.

But how has he handled the city’s crime problem? And as he recovers from his challenges, will he be able to devote enough time and energy to the job?

Hayden’s fourth oath of office last week marked his return to the city after six weeks recovering from a bicycle accident that left him hospitalized with 11 broken ribs, a concussion and internal bleeding.

In March, Hayden bloodied his face falling during a weekend hike but returned to work the following Monday. The 72-year-old Dorchester native is also battling cancer.

Last winter, Hayden had to overcome political and legal rather than physical challenges.

The Brockton Police Supervisor’s Union in January asked for an injunction to stop Hayden’s appointment. The union cited state law requiring police officers to retire at age 65. Hayden was 71 at the time.

That attempt failed and Hayden became the first outsider selected to head the Brockton Police Department in 40 years.

Lt. Donald Mills, president of the Police Supervisor’s Union, did not respond to requests for comment about the union’s current stance on the chief.

Earlier this year, several city councilors questioned the cost of Hayden’s appointment. The city is paying former chief Emanuel Gomes more than $72,000 to cover the remaining year on his chief’s contract, in addition to his captain’s salary.

After an ordinance that would make Hayden a civilian police commissioner with a salary of $149,000 stalled, Hayden ended up receiving $51,600 annually with no reimbursement for medical insurance, due to state pension law restrictions.

Council President Robert Sullivan said the cost still concerns him, and that he also worries about the “sustainability” of an interim chief.

Page 2 of 2 - Carpenter said that the city is getting Hayden at a “deep discount.”

Combining Gomes’ extra salary together with Hayden’s salary does not add up to $149,000, Carpenter said.

Instead, the mayor said, he focuses on Hayden’s effect on city crime.

“I can measure it by what people say to me throughout the day,” Carpenter said. “They can see that there are more drug busts. They feel safer. They can see the motorcycles.”

The motorcycles are part of a multi-pronged anti-crime effort instituted by Carpenter and Hayden this year. There are also neighborhood patrols, increased coordination with county and state police, and efforts to get video surveillance systems installed throughout the city.

“He inspires the troops,” Carpenter said. “They go out and work hard for him. There is something to leadership and motivation.”

Frank Spadea, 77, a retired Brockton police officer, said he has heard nothing but good reviews of Hayden’s performance.

“He’s got a big heart, very knowledgeable,” Spadea said. “He’s a man that should have come to Brockton 15 years ago.”

John M. Messia, chairman of Brockton Interfaith Community’s public safety campaign, also said he is satisfied with Hayden.

“He runs a tight ship,” Messia said. “He’s got respect from his officers. His work effort speaks for itself.”

Those efforts will not be affected by Hayden’s recent injuries, Carpenter said.

“This was a bump in the road,” the mayor said. “The silver lining is that now that he comes back, he’s still got a ton of hours left to use for the rest of the year.”

Under the state’s pension laws, Hayden is limited to 960 hours of work per year, a part-time schedule.

Now that Hayden is out of the hospital, Ward 3 Councilor Dennis Eaniri said the accident is “giving him some extra hours that he may not have had.”

Eaniri said he would prefer to have a sworn officer as chief rather than a civilian, but that Hayden “has done a decent and adequate job” so far.

“The place continues to run,” Eaniri said. “I’m comfortable knowing that the day-day-to operation is working.”